comiXology announces ‘Originals’ line with new Valiant, Kurtzman and ‘Adventure Time’ comics

The digital comics platform’s new program features exclusive comic content for comiXology and Kindle.

ComiXology has announced a line of exclusively digital comics, teaming with BOOM! Studios, Valiant Entertainment and the estate of Harvey Kurtzman on new content. Called “comiXology Originals,” the comics can only be found on comiXology and Kindle starting next year.

“Our mission is to make everyone on the face of the planet a comic fan, and with comiXology Originals we’re excited to offer a range of content by diverse creators,” said comiXology co-founder and CEO David Steinberger in a press release. “It’s fantastic to be working with publishers across the spectrum to deliver great comics to comiXology and Kindle, offering fans stories that they can’t get anywhere else.”

The three titles they announced include:

Adventure Time Marshall Lee Spectacular, a spinoff of BOOM! Studios’ popular Adventure Time comics. It will feature three new stories by Mariko Tamaki and Audrey Mok, Melanie Gillman with artist Trungles, and S.M. Vidaurri with artist Asia Kendrick-Horton. Fabio Moon will provide a fully painted cover. It’s available for pre-order today for $3.99, and per the comiXolgy site comes out next year.

Valiant High from Valiant Entertainment remixes the Valiant line of heroes as high school students “at a super-powered preparatory academy where Aric ‘X-O Manowar’ Dacia is a record-setting running back, Colin ‘Ninjak’ King is a debonair foreign exchange student and Coach Bloodshot is way too into dodgeball.” Faith is the new girl, so I’m guessing we’ll see the story through her eyes. It’s written by Daniel Kibblesmith (The Late Show with Stephen Colbert), artist Derek Charm (Jughead) with a first issue cover by David Lafuente. The four-issue mini-series starts next year, but you can pre-order it now for $3.99.

Finally, comiXology is working with the Harvey Kurtzman estate and packagers Kitchen, Lind & Associates to complete Harvey Kurtzman’s Marley’s Ghost, the first attempt at a graphic novel by the legendary MAD Magazine editor. Per the release: “Never completed until now, in the 1950s Kurtzman attempted to adapt the Marley’s ghost section of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol with over 70 pages of breakdowns.” Shannon Wheeler, Gideon Kendall and editor Josh O’Neill will “expand and complete” the graphic novel. It’ll cost $9.99 and comes out in “winter 2017.”

“It’s humbling to kick off the comiXology Originals program with such a fantastic roster of creators like Mariko Tamaki, Derek Charm, Audrey Mok, Fabio Moon, Shannon Wheeler, Harvey Kurztman and so many others,” said Chip Mosher, comiXology’s Head of Content and Senior Director of Communications, in the press release. “From a fun superhero romp with Valiant, to BOOM!’s Adventure Time, to posthumously finishing Mad Magazine founder Harvey Kurtzman’s Marley’s Ghost – this is truly an embarrassment of riches.”

(With the announcement, Mosher adds “Head of Content” to his title, so big congrats to Chip on his expanded role).